Department for Transport

Crossrail 2 Line

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of Crossrail 2 to (a) Richmond Park and North Kingston, (b) Greater London, (c) the South East and (d) the UK.

Paul Maynard: The Strategic Outline Business Case for Crossrail 2 submitted to the Department by Transport for London follows the five case business case model recommended by Her Majesty's Treasury and is currently under consideration by the Government. This includes the detailed assessment of the potential benefits of the scheme.

Crossrail Line

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department quantified the effect of the contracts tendered for Crossrail 1 on (a) UK GDP and (b) the size of economic value added to the regions outside London.

Paul Maynard: Crossrail’s business case states that the new railway will generate a £42bn net benefit for the UK economy. No detailed quantified assessment has been made of the effect of the contracts tendered for Crossrail on UK GDP or the size of the economic value added to the regions outside London. However, contracts tendered for the Crossrail project have been awarded to businesses of all sizes and from all parts of the UK. 96% of contracts have been awarded to companies based within the UK with 62% of suppliers based outside London. Over the course of the project, it is estimated that Crossrail and its supply chain will support the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs across the country.

Crossrail 2 Line

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential effect of the contracts for the tender of the curriculum of Crossrail 2 on (a) UK GDP and (b) the size of economic value added to the regions outside London.

Paul Maynard: Given the early stage of the development of the Crossrail 2 proposal, no estimate has been made of the potential effect of such contracts for the curriculum of Crossrail 2.

Crossrail 2 Line

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what external expert advice his Department has sought during its consideration of the Crossrail 2 business case submitted by Transport for London.

Paul Maynard: The Department has not sought any expert advice from outside Government during its consideration of the Crossrail 2 Strategic Outline Business Case submitted by Transport for London.

Crossrail 2 Line

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether representatives from his Department, serving on Crossrail 2's Programme Board, including the head of the Rail Directorate, approved the submission of the Crossrail 2 business case prior to its submission by Transport for London to his Department.

Paul Maynard: The Crossrail 2 Programme Board endorsed the submission of the Strategic Outline Business Case for consideration by the Department for Transport.

Waterloo Station

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances he has received from Network Rail that the Waterloo upgrade project will be delivered on time and on budget.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State and his officials receive regular updates from Network Rail on the progress of the Waterloo upgrade project.

London Zoo: Parking

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of London Zoo of the proposal by High Speed 2 Ltd to use the Zoological Society of London's car park.

Paul Maynard: The High Speed Rail (London to West Midland) Act 2017, as approved by Parliament, includes the provision of a lorry holding area (LHA) on the southern part of London Zoo’s cark park. The impacts of the proposed LHA on London Zoo were considered as part of the Parliamentary process. The House of Commons and House of Lords Select Committees both considered, but ultimately rejected the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) proposals for the LHA to be relocated. However, HS2 Ltd remain committed to seeking to mitigate the impacts of the LHA on the operation of London Zoo. HS2 Ltd has offered to work with ZSL to optimise the remaining area of the car park to suit their requirements, as far as is reasonably practicable. In addition, an assurance has been provided to ZSL that HS2 Ltd will seek to reduce or obviate the impacts of the LHA, as far as is reasonably practicable, during the detailed design stage.

Railways: Infrastructure

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of Network Rail's capability to deliver major infrastructure investments over the last three years.

Paul Maynard: The Hendy Review re-planned Network Rail’s investment programme for the funding period leading up to 2019, while the Bowe Review undertook an assessment of the investment planning process for Control Period 5 (2014-19). Following the review the Department and Network Rail have worked together to strengthen the governance and day-to-day management of the process for planning and overseeing rail enhancements. This has included the creation of a Portfolio Board to enable us to govern the enhancements lifecycle at the portfolio level.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which projects his Department expects Network Rail to complete in Control Period 6; and what the cost will be for each such project.

Paul Maynard: Network Rail published an update to its Enhancement Delivery Plan (EDP) on 30 June 2017. This sets out the outputs, scope and milestones for the projects that Network Rail is delivering, indicating which schemes are due for completion in CP6.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on ensuring that the railway supply chain receives a sufficient volume of orders through to the end of Control Period 6 to its maintain skilled workforce.

Paul Maynard: We have regular discussions with Network Rail throughout the year on a number of topics, including supply chain capability. We are currently undertaking the biggest investment in our railways for over a century and our HLOS, published on 20 July, makes clear that we expect in the volume of renewals and that funding will be available to meet this increase, subject to further work to assure the costs of this activity. This signals to the supply chain that there will continue to be demand for their services in the current and future control period.

Railways: Finance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report Ensuring a Sustainable Railway Industry, Options for developing franchised passengers services, published in May 2017.

Paul Maynard: We welcome the recent report on Ensuring a Sustainable Railway Industry and are always looking at ways we can improve our approach to rail franchising. We will continue to work with the railway industry and wider stakeholders to ensure that we create the best possible service for passengers.

Liverpool Port: Railways

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2017 to Question 4567, how much his Department has spent (a) examining the sufficiency of port access and connectivity in England and (b) to identify where connectivity could support economic growth.

Mr John Hayes: The Department is examining the sufficiency of port access, and how this connectivity could support economic growth in England, as part of the ongoing Port Connectivity Study. I commissioned this new study, and it is being undertaken by Sir John Randall on a pro bono basis, working with a team in the Department’s Maritime Directorate within its existing staffing budget. The Port Connectivity Study aims to report by the end of this year. Other work streams across road and rail investment planning, as well as regional strategies, that the Department is involved in will also consider such issues as part of their process. The Department does not collect information on its administrative spending at this level of disaggregation. Information about the Department’s spending and business plan can be found at www.gov.uk

Heathrow Airport

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2017 to Question 4566, how much his Department has spent (a) analysing the responses received to the draft Airports National Policy Statement and (b) undertaking an economic assessment of the effect of a new runway at Heathrow.

Mr John Hayes: The Department has contracted an external provider to collect, analyse and report on the comments received from responses to the draft Airports National Policy Statement consultation, as well as the consultation on Airspace Policy that was run in parallel. These consultations closed on 25 May and we are currently analysing more than 70,000 responses, the vast majority of which relate to the draft National Policy Statement. As at the time of answering, the Department has spent approximately £458,000, excluding VAT, on this contract. The Government takes the views of the public very seriously and is considering the responses closely. The economic assessment of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme, one of three shortlisted schemes, was published in the Further Review and Sensitivities Report in October 2016 and is largely based on evidence produced by the Airports Commission. This followed an internal review supported by two academics under contract for less than £5,000, which concluded that the evidence base was fit for purpose.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement of 17 July 2017, on HS2 update, HCWS49, how many of the contracts awarded he required a certificate of past performance; and whether his Department accepted self-certification of such past performance from any of those bidders.

Paul Maynard: All bidders passed a rigorous pre-qualification process when answering the original OJEU Contract Notice call for competition. Successful bidders demonstrated past experience of delivering projects with features which mirrored some or all of the aspects of the MWCC contracts – references were required to be provided to enable checking.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement of 17 July 2017, on HS2 update, HCWS49, how the estimate of 7,000 further contract opportunities was calculated.

Paul Maynard: The estimate is based upon data from Crossrail, which sampled the construction supply chain from tier 1 to tier 5 to assess and map the economic impact of tier 1 contract spend. The results suggest every 10 tier 1 contracts give rise to a further 10,000 contract opportunities through the supply chain. This is because of the multiplier effect generated through the tiers of the supply chain as contracts are awarded. As a programme of relatable scope and scale, HS2 Ltd has used this calculation to estimate that the seven MWCC contracts will give rise to 7,000 opportunities through the supply chain.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement of 17 July 2017, on HS2 update, HCWS49, how the estimate of 60 per cent for the number of contract opportunities going to small and medium-sized enterprises was calculated.

Paul Maynard: The estimate is based upon data from Crossrail, where 62% of tier 1 suppliers are SMEs, rising to 71% of tier 2 suppliers (Crossrail Sustainability Report 2016). As a programme of relatable scope and scale, HS2 Ltd has used this as a benchmark and therefore anticipates a similar figure being achieved. The current HS2 tier 1 supply chain is comprised of 1,498 unique active suppliers, of which 98% are UK suppliers (based on the postcode of their registered address) and 69% are SME suppliers (based on turnover).

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement of 17 July 2017, on HS2 update, HCWS49, how many contracts were awarded through framework agreements.

Paul Maynard: None of the contracts were awarded through framework agreements.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement of 17 July 2017, on HS2 update, HCWS49, what the average number of bids received was per contract awarded.

Paul Maynard: Across the seven Main Works Civils Contracts, 100% of those invited to submit a tender following a pre-Qualification Exercise did so, equating to 29 bids received in total. This represents an average of just over four bids per contract – six contracts received four bids and one received five bids.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6 of her Department’s policy paper, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether EU citizens who are full-time carers for a relative who dies before the EU citizen carer has accrued five years’ residence will be eligible to qualify for settled status.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6 of her Department’s policy paper, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether EU citizens who are full-time carers for their relatives will be eligible to qualify for settled status.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6 of her Department’s policy paper Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what provision the Government plans to make available with respect to the legal status and rights of EU citizens in the UK who are potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), sets out that EU citizens, including carers and potential victims of trafficking, who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence will be able to apply for UK settled status. EU citizens who arrive before the specified date, but do not yet have five years continuous residence, will be able to make an application to stay until they have built up the necessary five continuous years’ residence to be able to apply for UK settled status.

Immigration Controls: Enforcement

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost was of the Deloitte review of intelligence for the Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, commissioned in 2014.

Brandon Lewis: The cost of the Deloitte Review of intelligence for Immigration Enforcement and Border Force was £340,704.

United Kingdom Passport Service: Administration

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Passport Agency's average process time was for (a) straightforward and (b) non-straightforward applications in each month since June 2014.

Brandon Lewis: The tables below show the average processing time in days for a) straightforward and (b) non-straightforward applications in each month since June 2014 for UK and International applications. From April 2017 the median average times were used instead of the mean average previously reported, due to enhanced reporting available through a new system.Table 1UK average processing times for straightforward (SFPC) & non-straightforward passport applications (NSFPC)DateUK SFPCUK NSFPCJan-144.28.1Feb-146.810.3Mar-147.711.9Apr-149.313.9May-1410.915.6Jun-1414.018.5Jul-1416.221.3Aug-1412.019.3Sep-143.812.5Oct-142.49.7Nov-142.19.1Dec-142.09.4Jan-152.47.2Feb-153.17.6Mar-153.48.3Apr-152.78.0May-152.57.7Jun-152.58.0Jul-152.08.2Aug-151.88.0Sep-152.28.1Oct-152.88.7Nov-152.68.4Dec-151.78.4Jan-162.06.2Feb-162.46.6Mar-162.37.0Apr-163.07.5May-163.37.8Jun-164.48.7Jul-165.49.4Aug-165.69.5Sep-163.68.3Oct-161.86.9Nov-161.86.2Dec-161.86.5Jan-171.86.2Feb-172.16.4Mar-172.67.2Apr-173.17.9May-173.78.1Jun-173.88.3Table 2International average processing times for straightforward & non-straightforward passport applicationsDateInt SFPCInt NSFPCJan-149.016.4Feb-1411.416.3Mar-1415.520.9Apr-1426.029.8May-1424.834.3Jun-1427.334.4Jul-1430.236.2Aug-1427.534.6Sep-1416.029.5Oct-1410.425.5Nov-145.421.6Dec-143.921.8Jan-154.719.7Feb-155.216.4Mar-154.415.1Apr-153.412.1May-154.012.9Jun-154.212.9Jul-153.713.2Aug-152.612.3Sep-153.712.0Oct-152.611.2Nov-152.511.3Dec-152.112.0Jan-162.79.5Feb-163.79.8Mar-162.910.0Apr-163.210.2May-163.010.5Jun-163.111.3Jul-164.112.7Aug-165.813.9Sep-163.910.3Oct-162.111.8Nov-162.011.2Dec-161.912.2Jan-171.911.8Feb-173.111.2Mar-172.911.3Apr-172.89.7May-173.011.2Jun-172.611.7

Immigration: EU Nationals

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU nationals in the UK her Department has removed under Article 14.4(B) Directive 2004-38 because they did not satisfy its work requirements in the last 12 months for which data is available.

Brandon Lewis: The Government does not hold specific data on the number of EU nationals who have been removed under Article 14(4)(b) of Directive 2004/38/EC.

HM Passport Office: Staff

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport examining officers HM Passport Office employed in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The table below shows the number of Her Majesty's Passport Office full-time equivalents working within operational directorates for passport production, which includes passport examining officers and other front line roles, on the 31 March of each year.  Number (FTE)20112,58620122,21620132,38920142,59320153,59420163,41220173,219

Passports

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the number of overseas applications for passports has been in each month since March 2014.

Brandon Lewis: Her Majesty’s Passport Office received a total of 1,258,726 overseas passport applications from March 2014 to December 2016. A monthly breakdown of the total is provided in the table below.TableOverseas passport applications received March 2014 to December 2016.Mar-1440,874Apr-1437,836May-1443,092Jun-1434,926Jul-1432,064Aug-1429,327Sep-1433,670Oct-1432,998Nov-1428,110Dec-1425,919Jan-1539,276Feb-1541,273Mar-1547,400Apr-1542,913May-1540,364Jun-1540,769Jul-1536,041Aug-1531,636Sep-1538,995Oct-1537,174Nov-1532,893Dec-1525,929Jan-1643,902Feb-1647,771Mar-1649,548Apr-1645,894May-1642,248Jun-1640,485Jul-1636,333Aug-1633,651Sep-1634,559Oct-1632,620Nov-1634,034Dec-1624,202

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6 of her Department's policy paper entitled Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, how the term continuous in paragraph 27 is defined; and what proof of continuous residence will be required.

Brandon Lewis: We intend to use the definition of continuous residence from Article 16(3) of the EU Free Movement Directive (2004/38/EC).The Home Office will set out in due course what evidence may be provided as proof of continuous residence. We are committed to creating a streamlined and user-friendly applications system using existing government data to minimise the burden of documentary evidence required.

Psychiatry: Migrant Workers

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether NHS psychiatrists who do not have a PhD and are on a Tier 2 visa will be affected by the International Skills Charge.

Brandon Lewis: The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC), introduced on 6 April, is a charge paid by employers, rather than by migrant workers themselves. It applies to the recruitment of non-EEA nationals being sponsored under the Tier 2 (General) and (Intra Company Transfer) categories.The charge is applied based on the level of the job, not on the qualifications held by the migrant. Psychiatrists are not considered to be a PhD-level occupation, so employers will normally need to pay the charge.Employers will not need to pay the charge, however, if they are sponsoring a psychiatrist who is switching from Tier 4, the student route, or who was originally sponsored in Tier 2 before 6 April 2017.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Diesel Engines: Regulation

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of regulations for small diesel power plants.

Richard Harrington: In December 2016, Defra consulted on proposals to introduce Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) emissions controls on generators alongside its consultation on proposals for the implementation of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), aimed at improving air quality. The definition of generators used in the proposal captures those with a rated input of between 1MW thermal and 50MW thermal, although site aggregation means that some plants below this amount may also be affected if the total input on the same site falls within the proposed range. Insufficient controls on diesel generator emissions risk distorting electricity markets by encouraging new diesel at the expense of cleaner gas generation. Following the consultation on tightening controls, the 2016/17 capacity market auctions resulted in significantly fewer new diesel projects. While the proposed regulations relate to air quality, actions which reduce the use of diesel generators would limit carbon emissions.The Defra consultation closed on 18 February and a response will be issued in due course.

EURATOM

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the cost of replicating EURATOM in the UK.

Richard Harrington: The nature of future arrangements with Euratom and the EU will be subject to negotiation. Our aim throughout the negotiations with the European Commission will be to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world. The scope of these arrangements will determine the cost.Government included a nuclear safeguards bill in the Queen’s Speech and, subject to the will of Parliament, this will ensure that the Office for Nuclear Regulation has the legal underpinning required for it to take on the role and responsibilities required to meet our international safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Staff

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by the Office for Nuclear Regulation undertaking nuclear safeguard inspections and activities under the UK's Euratom obligations.

Richard Harrington: There are nine staff of various grades in the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) safeguards unit. This constitutes approximately 1.5% of ONR’s total staffing of 568. This is the current staffing level as at 30 June 2017 to satisfy the UK’s current / prevailing Euratom obligation.We are working closely with the ONR to ensure that they will be in a position to take on the role and responsibilities required to meet our international safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation obligations upon leaving Euratom.

Nuclear Power: Skilled Workers

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to acquire additional appropriately skilled and qualified staff to undertake nuclear safeguards work.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he made an impact assessment of the requirement for additional safeguarding staff at the Office for Nuclear Regulation  due to the UK leaving Euratom, identifying skills shortages due to that departure and its implication on existing nuclear businesses operating in the UK.

Richard Harrington: We are working closely with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to ensure that they will be in a position to take on the role and responsibilities required to meet our international safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: EURATOM

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) cost and (b) additional staff requirements for the Office for Nuclear Regulation of (i) managing negotiations and planning for the UK leaving Euratom and (ii) replicating that nuclear safeguards regime.

Richard Harrington: Our aim throughout the negotiations with the European Commission will be to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world. The details of these arrangements will determine the cost and staff requirements.Government has announced that it will introduce a Nuclear Safeguards Bill, which will ensure that the Office for Nuclear Regulation has the legal underpinning required for it to take on the role and responsibilities required to meet our international safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what amount of his Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Margot James: EU exit impacts all areas of work across the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and work is underway in teams across BEIS to plan and prepare for exit. Given the interactions between EU exit and the Department’s other work, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Infrastructure and Innovation: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to increase levels of investment in (a) infrastructure and (b) technological innovation in the North East over the next five years.

Margot James: The objective of Government’s Industrial Strategy is to increase productivity and drive growth across the United Kingdom. We have provided a framework to build on the strengths of different places and address the factors that hold others back. This will include investing in key infrastructure projects, increasing skill levels, and backing local innovation strengths.In the North East the Industrial Strategy will build on the £379.6m million Local Growth Fund awarded to the North East LEP as part of their Growth Deal, which will see investment in significant infrastructure projects such as the International Advanced Manufacturing Park, and in new technologies at the Centre for Innovation in Formulation. The Growth Deal will bring an estimated 8,200 jobs and up to £300 million of public and private sector matched investment to the area.

Small Businesses: Energy

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to support small businesses to contribute to the generation of green energy.

Richard Harrington: The Feed-in Tariff remains open and provides an incentive for small businesses to invest in generating renewable electricity.The Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) provides financial incentives to increase the uptake of renewable and low carbon heat by businesses, the public sector and non-profit organisations in England, Wales and Scotland. It is open to applications to support 7 different technologies. The 7 supported technologies are:Commercial biomass (small, medium & large)Solid biomass Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systemsHeat pumps (water-source, ground-source and air-source)Deep geothermalSolar collectorsBiomethane injectionBiogas combustion (small, medium & large)

Small Businesses: Microgeneration

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to increase the capacity of small businesses to take advantage of energy microgeneration.

Richard Harrington: The Feed-in Tariff remains open and provides an incentive for businesses to invest in generating renewable electricity.The Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) provides financial incentives to increase the uptake of renewable and low carbon heat by businesses, the public sector and non-profit organisations in England, Wales and Scotland. It is open to applications to support 7 different technologies. The 7 supported technologies are:Commercial biomass (small, medium & large)Solid biomass Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systemsHeat pumps (water-source, ground-source and air-source)Deep geothermalSolar collectorsBiomethane injectionBiogas combustion (small, medium & large)

Radioactive Materials: Imports

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that (a) nuclear power plants, (b) research facilities and (c) hospitals will continue to be able to import radioactive materials after the UK has left the EU.

Richard Harrington: The Government is committed to ensuring effective arrangements for nuclear co-operation with both Euratom and the rest of the world, including the trade and transport of nuclear and radioactive materials. The UK’s ability to import medical radioisotopes, which will not be affected by withdrawal from Euratom.

European Research Council

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has for the relationship between the UK and the European Research Council after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.As my Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. However it is too early to speculate on the UK’s future relationship with the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme, which includes the European Research Council.The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

China: Oil

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Government and (b) businesses in China on the exploration of oil; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: The British Embassy in China meets regularly with the Chinese Government and a range of stakeholders, including businesses, to inform policy development on a wide range of topics, including the exploration of oil.The British Embassy has held a number of recent discussions with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) to discuss their oil exploration activities in the UK Continental Shelf.

Qatar: Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of the presence of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in Qatar.

Alistair Burt: As is the practice of previous governments we do not comment on matters of national security.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what talks his Department has had with the Government of China as a result of the recent nuclear launch by North Korea.

Mark Field: The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) has never performed a nuclear launch. However on 4 July, the DPRK announced their 12th missile test of 2017 as the first successful launch of a 'Hwasong 14 Inter Continental Ballistic Missile'.In a statement on 4 July, and in a subsequent press conference in Japan on 21 July, the Foreign Secretary condemned the launch as a further violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. He described the test as a reckless provocation, emphasised the need for tough action at the UN Security Council, and urged all, including China, to increase the pressure on Pyongyang through diplomacy and sanctions to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.On 5 July, The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt Hon Mark Field, summoned the DPRK Ambassador to make clear the UK's condemnation of the launch. On 5 July, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN made a statement during discussion at an emergency UNSC session that the international community must "toughen its resolve" against the DPRK threat. The Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN (also participating in the debate) stated that DPRK's flagrant violation of Security Council decisions was unacceptable.During the G20 Summit on 7 July, the Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with President Xi and discussed both the missile launch and the need for China to do more to press DPRK to denuclearise.On six further occasions in July, senior UK officials have made representations to the Chinese Government in Beijing and London setting out our clear position that this launch represents a serious provocation, a breach of UN Security Council resolutions, and a threat to international security.

Mexico: Missing Persons

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department last made representations to the Mexican Government on co-operation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigation into the disappearance of 43 teacher training students of the Escuela Normal in Ayotzinapa on 26 September 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: In her previous role as Foreign Office Minister for Human Rights, Baroness Anelay visited Mexico in December and raised the case with the Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister for Human Rights.

Qatar: Politics and Government

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on reported Qatari contact with and support for political opposition groups in (a) Saudi Arabia, (b) the UAE, (c) Egypt and (d) Bahrain.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of such reports. We are encouraging all sides to address ongoing tensions in the region, and to get firmly behind Kuwait's mediation efforts.

Qatar: Islamic State

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of allegations concerning the presence of ISIS entities in Qatar.

Alistair Burt: ​As is the practice of previous governments we do not comment on matters of national security.

Egypt: Counter-terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions have been held with the Egyptian Government and the aid that the UK can offer it in dealing with terrorist cells and terrorist attacks.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Staff discussed these issues with their Egyptian counterparts during recent visits. We are committed to eradicating the scourge of terrorism from our countries and continue to work closely with the Egyptian authorities on security and counter-terrorism. UK Government Ministers have sent consistent messages of solidarity to the Egyptian people and their Government in response to terrorist attacks in that country. The UK Government stands united with Egypt in the face of terror-related attacks.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department still plans to allocate £4.8 million each year over the course of the 2017 Parliament to support the delivery of the Blue Belt policy to increase marine protection within the UK Overseas Territories.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government is fully committed to creating a Blue Belt around the UK Overseas Territories (OTs). We remain on track to deliver four million km2 of protected ocean around our OTs by 2020. In support of our commitment, I was please to announce £20 million of funding to support our Blue Belt commitments over the next four years at the Our Oceans Summit in Washington DC last September.So far, that funding has provided support to develop management, surveillance and enforcement plans to very large marine protected areas already announced. It has also supported the development of marine protection strategies to Territories committed to developing marine protection regimes by 2020. Specific funding arrangements for future years are under discussion.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Immigration: EU Nationals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what protections will be offered to EU spouses of UK citizens who do not meet standard residency criteria once the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We are proposing that family members arriving after exit, for example a future spouse, should be subject to the same rules that currently apply to non-EU nationals joining British citizens, or alternatively to the post-exit immigration arrangements for EU citizens who arrive after the specified date. These arrangements are yet to be finalised.

EU Institutions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the number of EU institutions and other EU-related bodies which the UK will leave on leaving the EU; and what assessment it has made of the financial and staffing implications of replicating the role of those organisations in the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: No decisions have yet been made on our future relationship with the EU's institutions and decentralised bodies after leaving the EU. We are considering very carefully a range of options. Our relationship will be evaluated in light of delivering the twelve objectives outlined by the Prime Minister to achieve a deep and special partnership between the UK and the European Union.Prior to any decisions on establishing new agencies, the Government will, however, always look to minimise disruption and costs, which will include considering alternative options.The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill makes clear that any decision on creating new agencies would require the approval of both Houses of Parliament under the affirmative procedure.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the merits of using super-affirmative procedures for secondary legislation under the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Mr Steve Baker: The Bill provides for negative and affirmative procedures to be used for secondary legislation under the key delegated powers. Parliament will need to be satisfied that the procedures in the Bill for scrutinising secondary legislation made under the Bill are appropriate for and proportionate to the task.We are committed to ensuring proper scrutiny of the legislation whilst being conscious of the limitations of parliamentary time available.

Department for International Development

Department for International Trade: Staff

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many officials of her Department and non-departmental public bodies have the word trade in their job title.

Rory Stewart: DFID’s Trade for Development team contains 42 staff. Three elsewhere in DFID have trade in their job title. There are no staff with job titles including trade in DFID’s two non-departmental public bodies.

Department for Education

Higher Education: Disadvantaged

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of (a) rising tuition fees and (b) the abolition of maintenance grants on the increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are dropping out of higher education; and if she will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Education published an equality analysis in May 2016, to cover the reforms set out in the Success as a Knowledge Economy White Paper, that were subsequently taken forward through the Higher Education and Research Act (2017). This included an assessment of the impact of allowing institutions who were successful in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment process to increase their fees up to inflation. The Department also published in December 2016 an Equality Analysis for the 2017/18 student finance package, which covered both the increase in fees and accompanying loan support. These assessments concluded that this change was unlikely to significantly alter participation decisions. Tuition fees will not increase in real terms and Higher Education and publicly funded institutions will remain free at the point of access for those who are eligible, as tuition fee loans will increase to cover increased tuition fees.  A copy of the Equality Analysis – Higher Education and Research Bill (published May 2016) is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524226/bis-16-281-he-research-bill-equality-analysis.pdfA copy of the Equality Analysis for the Student Support and Fee Regulations (published December 2016) is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577420/Equality_Analysis_for_Student_Support_Regulations_2016.pdf.  The Government is committed to maintaining the UK’s world class higher education system while living within its means and ensuring all those with the talent to benefit from a higher education can afford to do so. To put higher education funding onto a more sustainable footing, the Government asked future graduates to meet more of the costs of their studies through replacing maintenance grants with loans.The equality analysis for the 2016/17 student support regulations assessed the impact of this policy change, including the impact on students from low income backgrounds.A copy of the Student Finance Equality Analysis – The Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (published November 2015) is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482110/bis-15-639-student-finance-equality-analysis.pdf. Non-continuation rates for UK students at English Higher Education Institutions are lower than in 2009/10, including for the most disadvantaged students. Analysis by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has found that students’ age, subject studied and entry qualifications account for a substantial portion of the gap between the most and least disadvantaged students. The analysis is available here:http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/ncr/nhe/. Young people from the poorest areas are now 43% more likely to go to university than they were in 2009/10. Not only are application rates among 18-year-olds in England at record highs, but drop-out rates for young, mature, disadvantaged and BME students are all lower now than they were when the coalition government came to power in 2010.By measuring retention rates as one of its core metrics and requiring all participating providers to submit a statement for fair access, the TEF aims to recognise those institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression to further study or a graduate job. We want to continue to see reduced non-continuation rates for all students. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 requires institutions to publish admissions and retention data by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, and this greater transparency will help the Higher Education sector make further progress to build on what has already been achieved. We are working closely with HEFCE and the Director of Fair Access to target resources effectively and to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access and retention for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what alternative arrangements have been made for young people unable to attend school as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have closed temporarily as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Nick Gibb: Two schools were temporarily closed as a result of the tragic Grenfell fire.St Francis of Assisi Primary School was relocated to Sion Manning Secondary School for a short while, but has now returned to their own school.Kensington Aldridge Academy remains temporarily closed. The Department for Education is working closely with the school, alongside the local authority, to provide the resources that they need. Pupils are currently being taught by Kensington Aldridge Academy staff at nearby Burlington Danes Academy and Latymer Upper School. Specialist counselling support and advice for children, young people and their families has been made available, along with a programme of summer activity.Kensington Aldridge Academy staff and pupils want to return to their school as soon as possible. As it will not be possible to gain full access to the school over the coming months, a temporary school site will be developed, so that pupils can remain with their school community and continue their education. Pupils, parents and the local community are being kept informed.

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of period poverty on young women and girls in schools.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No girl should be held back from reaching her potential because of her gender. Current guidance to schools on Relationship and Sex Education encourages schools to make adequate and sensitive arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation and with requests for sanitary protection. The department has not conducted an assessment about the effect of period poverty on young women and girls in schools.

Pre-school Education

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many investigations have been undertaken by Ofsted into unregistered early years providers in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Pre-school Education

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding from the public purse was provided to unregistered early years providers in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All providers must be registered to deliver the early years childcare entitlements.

Students: Social Media

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a confidential helpline to offer students in England and Wales practical advice on the use of online services, risks to the person and safety.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Children and young people should feel able to approach staff at their educational establishment if they have concerns about any aspect of their well-being. The role of schools and colleges in England in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is set out in the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education. The equivalent document in Wales is Safeguarding Children in Education.There are already several sources of online or phone line assistance for children and young people in the UK.Childline is provided by the NSPCC. DfE provides Childline with £2 million funding a year. Assistance can be accessed by 24-hour phone line and there are message boards for peer to peer support. Their material includes staying safe online, including removal of offensive images, online grooming and sextingDisrespect NoBody is a government campaign aimed at teaching young people what a healthy relationship should look like. Its website directs young people to sources of advice from a variety of charities and counselling services, on a wide range of issues, such as physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and honour-based violence.The UK Safer Internet Centre Advice Centre provides resources and tools on online safety for children and young people aged 3-19 in age-appropriate formats.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2http://learning.gov.wales/docs/learningwales/publications/130509-safeguarding-children-in-education-en.pdfhttps://www.disrespectnobody.co.uk/https://www.childline.org.uk/https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre

Apprentices

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships on the new Trailblazer apprenticeship standards have been commenced in (a) Borough of Haringey, (b) London and (c) England in the last 12 months.

Anne Milton: A number of apprenticeship standards have been developed by trailblazer groups.The number of starts on standards is published in the further education and skills statistical first release. This contains starts on standards since their introduction in September 2014, but geographical breakdowns have not been published to date.The latest publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-july-2017.Previous and future editions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr.The data below is based on a breakdown of academic years between May 2015 to July 2016, and from August 2016 to April 2017 reported to date. Last 12 months reportedBorough of Haringey60London1,800England12,150Grand total12,500 Note: The England total is based on starts for learners with home postcodes in English regions, whereas the Grand Total will include some learners outside English regions but undertaking apprenticeships in England, and also learners where the home postcode is not known.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has allocated for the marketing of its 30 free hours of childcare policy to parents in (a) England and (b) each local authority in England.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department has to date spent £100,000 toward the marketing of Childcare Choices, the cross government campaign that promotes the 30 hours free childcare policy in England and Tax-Free Childcare across the UK. No funding has been directly allocated to local authorities for marketing. However, a stakeholder toolkit, which includes communications materials, was sent to all local authorities at the launch of the Childcare Choices campaign in March 2017. This is also available on the provider page of the Childcare Choices website. The department continues to work closely with local authorities, through our contract with Childcare Works, to ensure that the 30 hours offer is communicated to providers and parents locally.

Mental Health Services: Children in Care

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to introduce the pilot scheme to assess the mental health of children entering the care system.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We plan to begin the pilots in the new year.

Department for Education: Welsh Language

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which of her Department's online services are only available in the Welsh language on request.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is committed to ensuring that the needs of Welsh language speakers are recognised and met, in accordance with the requirements of departmental Welsh Language Schemes.The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.The Department is responsible for two bodies that provide online services to the public in Wales: the Student Loans Company (SLC) and Teachers’ Pensions. The SLC’s main website provides announcements specifically to Welsh students in both languages, and the Student Finance Wales website is available in the Welsh language at: http://www.cyllidmyfyrwyrcymru.co.uk/.The Teachers’ Pensions website: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk offers to provide a Welsh translation of any Teachers’ Pensions documentation on request.

Pupils: Health

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her budget is for healthy pupils capital programme funding for each financial year to 2020.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As announced by the Secretary of State on 17 July, we will invest £100 million in 2018-19 for healthy pupils capital.

Pupil Premium

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been paid through the pupil premium to children in (a) West Sussex and (b) other local education authorities in England in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Pupil premium funding for West Sussex and all other local authorities for the last five years can be found at the links below: 2013-14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables 2014-15:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations2015-16:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations2016-17:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-20172017-18:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for her Department to publish the outcome of the 30 hours free childcare pilot scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department published the evaluation of early implementation of 30 hours of free childcare on 17 January 2017 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-early-implementation-evaluation).We also plan to publish the evaluation of early rollout of 30 hours of free childcare in September 2017 and will take steps to implement the early lessons from this as soon as it is made available.

Department for Education: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of her Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As part of our preparations for exiting the European Union, the Department for Education, along with all Government departments, is assessing the impact of exiting the EU and we are planning for a range of scenarios, working alongside HM Treasury and the Department for Exiting the European Union.The Department has four members of staff working full time on co-ordinating and contributing to cross-department and cross-government work on EU exit. The cost over the 2017/18 year will be £212,000, which is less than 1% of the Department’s administration expenditure. This cost is based on London rates of pay as well as associated overhead costs.These staff are supported by a range of civil servants across the department who lead on specific policy areas and whose work includes, but is not limited to EU exit work.

Department for International Trade: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the potential number of Acts or parts of Acts that will be subject to repeal as a result of provisions in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Government departments have been analysing the UK statute book and directly applicable EU law in their areas of responsibility to enable an assessment of the scale of the changes needed. This is likely to include the repeal, but also the amendment, of provisions in Acts but we are not in a position to give a sense of scale at this time. In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill [‘Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union’], published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required.

Pre-school Education: South Tyneside

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been made available to South Tyneside local authority for early years provision in each of the last seven years; and how much funding is being made available to South Tyneside local authority for early years provision under her Department's new early years national funding formula in each of the next three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The early years funding allocation for South Tyneside local authority can be found here for the following financial years:2013-14:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-2013-to-20142014-15:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-2014-to-20152015-16:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-20162016-17:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2016-to-20172017-18 – First year under Early Years National Funding Formula (provisional allocation):https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2017-to-2018Prior to 2013-14, early years’ local authority funding allocations were not separately identified within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). Instead, they were part of the total DSG allocated to each local authority. Early years allocations prior to 2013-14 are not therefore available.Funding allocations for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will be announced in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Debt Collection

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2014 taking control of goods reform of bailiff law.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Justice is finalising a post implementation review of the 2014 bailiff law reforms. We will make a decision on publication in due course.

Electronic Tagging

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the outsourcing of electronic tagging of ex-offenders.

Mr David Lidington: Electronic Monitoring is an important tool to improve supervision in the community and support offenders to change their lives; the restrictions and structure imposed can help to break habits and limit opportunities to offend, which can reinforce positive behaviour when used alongside other interventions or requirements. The Electronic Monitoring service has always been delivered using a contracted infrastructure, so it is not possible to make any assessment against another delivery model.

Prisons: Construction

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the letter of 30 March 2017 sent by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice to the Clerk of the Justice Select Committee on Ministry of Justice Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2016-17, what estimate he has made of the level of private finance required to meet the potential shortfall between projected capital spending and the funding allocated under the Spending Review 2015 for the prison building programme.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the letter of 30 March 2017 sent by the Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Justice to the Clerk of the Justice Select Committee on Ministry of Justice Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2016-17, if he will publish the (a) projected capital spending and (b) funding allocated under Spending Review 2015 for the prison building programme.

Mr David Lidington: We are investing £1.3bn to build up to 10,000 new prison places with better education facilities and other rehabilitative services. The department is in the process of revising its financial plans to take account of changes to planned timescales due to the election, and also to ensure that the overall plans reflect the priorities of the new government. We will share updated financial plans with the Justice Select Committee in the Autumn. No decisions have been made as to whether there is a role for private finance.

Non-molestation Orders

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of non-molestation orders were issued by (a) courts in England and (b) Horsham County Court in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16 and (iii) 2016-17.

Dominic Raab: The table below sets out the numbers of non-molestation orders issued by courts in England and, specifically, by Horsham County Court in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.Table 1. Number of domestic violence non-molestation orders issued in England and Horsham County CourtYearEnglandHorsham County Court14-1523,4825315-1623,3355516-1723,72487

Non-molestation Orders: Legal Aid Scheme

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-molestation orders were issued that led to legal aid funding being granted at (a) courts in England and (b) Horsham County Court in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16 and (iii) 2016-17.

Dominic Raab: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the level of potential savings to motorists as a result of proposed reforms to claims for whiplash; and if he will place in the Library that analysis.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that insurance companies return savings which accrue to them from proposed whiplash reforms to their customers rather than their shareholders.

Mr David Lidington: A consultation stage impact assessment was published in November 2016 and is available at https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reforming-soft-tissue-injury-claims/.A validated impact assessment detailing the estimated savings to motor insurance premiums arising from the Government’s whiplash reforms, including the data sources and evidence used, will be published alongside the legislation which was announced in the Queen’s Speech.The Government will continue to monitor the industry’s reaction to these reforms closely and will consider further action to make sure the savings are passed on if required.

Prisons

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the current status is of HMP Holme House, HMP Ranby, HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Coldingly and HMP Highdown; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The named prisons became reform prisons in July 2016 and acted as trailblazers for greater autonomy. They were given considerable freedom to innovate, supported by greater authority over their finances, policies and processes. Building on the successful work of reform prisons, we have empowered governors across the estate by giving them the levers and controls they need to drive forward reform within their prisons. These freedoms were announced in the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper. The reform prisons will continue to benefit from these.

Prisons: Security

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cell searches have been conducted in the period between one prisoner moving out of a cell and another moving in, in each of the last three years.

Mr David Lidington: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Drugs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which prison the largest amount of drugs was seized in the last 12 months.

Mr David Lidington: The illicit supply of drugs undermines the safety and security of prisons. We are taking urgent and decisive action tackle those behind this criminal enterprise. In the 12 months to June 2017, the prison with the largest weight of drugs found was HMP Altcourse with a drug weight of 17.1kg seized.

Probation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to carry out a review of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme; and if he will consult staff representatives during that review.

Mr David Lidington: We have carried out a comprehensive review of the probation system to improve outcomes for offenders and communities while making sure public protection remains our top priority. As part of this work we have engaged with probation providers and staff, both in Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service. On 19 July 2017 I laid a written statement which provided an update on our work to improve the delivery of probation services.

Electronic Tagging

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what programme management capabilities his Department has developed to oversee the future development of the new generation electronic monitoring programme.

Mr David Lidington: The Electronic Monitoring Programme has an Authority Programme Board, chaired by the Senior Responsible Owner and reports regularly to HM Prison and Probation Service Agency’s Executive Committee and to the Department’s Investment Committee. The Senior Responsible Owner of the electronic monitoring programme has successfully completed the Major Projects Leadership Programme and the Programme Director who reports to him has completed the Project Leadership Programme. The Department’s Portfolio team attend the Authority Programme Board and provide oversight of the Departmental Change Portfolio to ensure it is aligned to strategy, is achievable and affordable; assesses the effectiveness of project governance and controls, and; provides assurance that the portfolio remains on track for effective delivery.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Resignations

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff have left the National Probation Service in the last 12 months due to (a) stress and (b) ill health.

Mr David Lidington: We do not hold data on the number of staff who have left the National Probation Service due specifically to stress or ill health. Figures for the number of staff who left the National Probation Service through medical retirement or dismissal due to medical inefficiency are however available. Latest figures for these can be found in table 11a of the HMPPS annual workforce statistics bulletin 31 March 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/614643/noms-workforce-tables-march-2017.xlsx.

Legal Aid Scheme: Grenfell Tower

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assistance the Government has provided to the residents of Grenfell Tower to enable them to access legal aid.

Dominic Raab: Where an application for legal aid is made, this will be assessed against the existing means and merits tests, as appropriate. The Government has changed the law so that payments made to victims of the fire to support them, including from the Government’s discretionary fund, can be disregarded in assessments of financial eligibility for legal aid. The Government has worked collaboratively with the Law Society to design and issue guidance to legal aid providers so that they are best able to assist the residents. The Legal Aid Agency also continues to liaise directly with key partners on the ground at Grenfell, including the North Kensington Legal Centre who are offering advice through legal help.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which prison the largest number of phones was seized over the last 12 months.

Mr David Lidington: The illicit use of mobile phones undermines the safety and security of prisons. We are taking urgent and decisive action as the number of mobile phones and SIM cards seized continues to be too high. Between July 2016 and June 2017, the prison with the most mobile phones found was HMP Altcourse with 583.

Prison Officers: Resignations

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have left the service due to (a) stress and (b) ill health in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: We do not hold data on the number of prison officers who have left the prison service due specifically to stress or ill health. Figures for the number of prison officers who left the prison service through medical retirement or dismissal due to medical inefficiency are however available. Latest figures for these can be found in table 11b of the HMPPS annual workforce statistics bulletin 31 March 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/614643/noms-workforce-tables-march-2017.xlsx.

Prisons: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional staffing resources the Government plans to allocate to prisons to enable officers and prison authorities to meet the objectives of the Government's new drugs strategy.

Mr David Lidington: We are in the process of recruiting 2,500 new prison officers who receive substance misuse training as part of their overall training. This training includes identification of drugs and the impact they may have on health; signposting prisoners into relevant treatment/recovery services; and strategies to reduce supply and demand of drugs in prisons. Prisons have at their disposal a range of security measures to reduce the supply of drugs being smuggled into prisons including physical searching, the use of x-ray machines, CCTV surveillance cameras, intelligence-led searches and drug detection dogs. We have also introduced new national and regional intelligence units, and are investing over £3 million in creating counter-serious organised crime (SOC) units in HMPPS, which are working with establishments and law enforcement partners to develop intelligence on individuals and organised crime groups linked to the supply of drugs in prisons. To deter and disrupt the use of dangerous drugs, we are the first jurisdiction in the world to have developed and rolled out a new test for psychoactive substances (since September 2016) across the prison estate. We continue to work with our contracted laboratory to analyse data to ensure we are testing for the most commonly misused substances.Governors are being empowered to deliver the changes that are most important for their prisons. From April 17, Governors have been given more freedom over how they organise their staff, including the ability to decide their staffing structure. In addition to this, since April 2017 governors have greater input into decision making about health provision in their prisons, enabling them to identify and work with NHS England commissioners to improve healthcare services in their prisons, including addiction services.

Judiciary

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase diversity in the judiciary.

Dominic Raab: The Lord Chancellor has a joint statutory duty with the Lord Chief Justice and the Judicial Appointments Commission to encourage judicial diversity. Since 2016 broader eligibility criteria have been agreed for those applying to High Court, Deputy High Court and Recorder positions; to open up the High Court to candidates without previous judicial experience; to appoint Recorders regardless of their jurisdictional experience or geographical location; and to trial the Judicial Appointments Commission’s fast track process to let Deputy High Court judges apply for full High Court office. These measures were introduced to encourage the widest range of talent to apply for judicial office, whilst protecting the statutory criteria and appointing solely on merit.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount of his Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence does not hold this information.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the risk assessment outcomes are which influenced his Department not to purchase the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node in order to facilitate secure signalling between the F35B and older aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The F-35 has all necessary communications to enable interoperability with other UK and NATO capabilities. The UK has conducted recent trials, with exceptional results, into understanding, and then maximizing, communications between advanced and legacy capabilities.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Queen Elizabeth is equipped with the Multifunctional Advanced Data Link; whether that link allows covert transmission of data; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS Queen Elizabeth will have a number of systems in place for secure communications. I am withholding further details as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the F35B is able to communicate with HMS Queen Elizabeth while in stealth mode; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The F35B Lightning will be able to communicate appropriately with the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Link 16 communication channel for data sharing between F35B and older UK aircraft is a more secure data sharing channel than the BACN; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: Link 16 and the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node are both secure and encrypted systems. The Link 16 communications system is interoperable with other UK platforms and can communicate, securely and encrypted, with platforms such as Typhoon or the Queen Elizabeth Class carrier.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the F35B in stealth mode is indistinguishable on radar from an enemy missile; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: With advanced sensors, mission systems and low-observable technology (stealth), the F-35 Lightning is a 5th Generation air system which will provide the UK with a world-beating combat air capability. F-35B is distinguishable to UK and allied partners.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps have been taken to date to network carrier strike to identify the F35B; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: Across a carrier strike task group, there will be an array of sensors, data links and information services that will be used to communicate with and identify the F35B, ensuring a comprehensive and up to date operational picture. I am withholding further details as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Puma Helicopters

Mr Marcus Fysh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to replace the RAF Puma fleet; and when he expects to announce a final decision on replacement.

Harriett Baldwin: We plan to retain Puma in service until at least 2025. Work to investigate delivery of this capability beyond the mid-2020s is under way but it would be premature to provide a formal decision date.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK is developing mission data file or mission data load for the F35B in conjunction with Australia; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK and Australia are working together to develop F-35 mission data file sets in a jointly owned and operated facility.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the F35B planes delivered to the UK have experienced (a) over-heating of the horizontal tail, (b) icing of the engine on the ground, (c) icing of the engine in flight, (d) problems with main landing gear tyres and (e) problems with on-board oxygen generation systems; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK F-35B aircraft has experienced no problems with over-heating of the horizontal tail nor have there been any issues with icing of the engines, either in-flight or on the ground. There have been eight occurrences of main landing gear tyre issues; this is primarily due to wear and foreign object damage. There was also one occurrence of a problem with the on-board oxygen generation system; this was rectified in-flight by the pilot. All of the issues that have been identified have been discovered during the development test phase and solutions have been developed for all F-35 users.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service-critical deficiency reports have been recorded to date on the F35B; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: There are currently around 19 important deficiency reports that remain open out of 2,600 deficiency reports raised for all three variants of the F-35 to date, throughout the life of the programme. All have acceptable plans for resolution or mitigation to allow their closure prior to the UK initial operating capability. The F-35 is still in the development test phase of the programme; the aim of the development test is to find any deficiencies so that they can be rectified.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what actions have been taken by his Department following the December 2016 report from the Pentagon in relation to the Autonomic Logistics Information System; whether a risk assessment has been carried out in relation to that system's vulnerability to cyber-attack; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The Autonomic Logistics Information System has been, and will be, subject to repeated risk assessments and tests for vulnerability to cyber threats. These threats develop over time and management of this risk is a continuous process. The Government will continue to develop and deploy technology and procedures to protect our critical information systems.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has the clearance to stress-test the ALIS system; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK Government has the clearances necessary to bring the F-35 Lightning into service, and this includes the Autonomic Logistics Information System. Details of this stress testing cannot be disclosed as to do would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces, but it has the capability to identify significant vulnerabilities.

Deepcut Barracks

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide an update on the implementation of Recommendation 30 of the 2006 Deepcut Review, published in March 2006.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Recommendation 30 of the 2006 Deepcut Review was as follows:-"There should always be an inquest or, in Scotland, a Fatal Accident Inquiry, into a sudden death of a soldier, wherever the death has occurred".Section 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides that the coroner has a duty to investigate the death of a body in his or her area if the coroner has reason to believe that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death or if the cause of death is unknown. This means that there will always be a coroner investigation, including an inquest, into the death of a member of the Armed Forces on exercises or operations, or where a death has occurred as a result of suicide or an accident, even when the death has occurred overseas and the Service person is returned to England and Wales. In some limited circumstances, for example where a death is a result of natural causes, the coroner has no jurisdiction to investigate.Section 17 of the 2009 Act also provides that the Chief Coroner must monitor investigations into the deaths of Service personnel and ensure that coroners are trained to deal with such deaths.Policy as to when a Fatal Accident Inquiry would take place is a matter for the Scottish Government, as this is a devolved matter.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the broadband capability of HMS Queen Elizabeth is; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The broadband capability of HMS Queen Elizabeth will be scaled to meet the operational environment and the services required by a specific task group. I am withholding further details as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there have been any incidents of green glow in the helmets worn by F35B pilots; whether that green glow has impeded pilots' efforts to read instruments; how many incidents of total failure of night vision capability have been experienced; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The green glow is a known and recorded issue for the F-35 helmet display; a resolution is being developed. The UK is not aware of green glow impeding the pilot's ability to read the aircraft's instruments, nor has it experienced a total failure of night vision capability. UK pilots have found the Gen III helmet to offer outstanding capabilities across the range of F-35 operating roles.

Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the new base to be open for Royal Marines at Devonport Dockyard.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: No decision has been made. All sites announced under the Better Defence Estates Strategy are subject to further assessment studies and an update is due to Parliament in autumn 2017.

Armed Forces: Social Media

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent on social media by each branch of the armed forces in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017 to date.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The vast majority of social media advertising spend within the Ministry of Defence is designed to aid recruitment into our Armed Forces. The following was spent on paid social media by each of the single Services from 2015 to 30 June 2017. YearRoyal NavyBritish ArmyRoyal Air Force2015£798,335£362,606£24,7182016£576,040£597,035£153,7982017 (to 30 June)£278,339£312,780£214,494

Ministry of Defence: Aviation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the (a) collection and (b) use of air-miles by his Department's personnel; who oversees that policy and by what means; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Any air miles accrued by the Department in respect of Ministers' and officials' travel are used by the Department towards the cost of official travel.The policy on the use of air miles is owned by the Chief of Defence People. Spot checks are carried out to ensure that all Defence personnel adhere to the policy.

Sweden: Joint Exercises

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel and what equipment will be deployed as part of the Aurora 2017 military exercise being organised by Sweden in September 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: No units from the UK Armed Forces will participate in the Swedish Armed Forces AURORA 17 military exercise.

NATO: Military Exercises

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of each aircraft type from the UK took part in the NATO Tiger Meet in 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The Royal Navy deployed one Merlin Mk2 and one Sea King Mk7 Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopter, and the Army deployed one Puma Mk2 helicopter to the NATO Tiger Meet 2017.

Type 26 Frigates

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the expected cost per ship of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: On 2 July 2017, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced the award of a contract valued at £3.7 billion to manufacture the first batch of three Type 26 Frigates. The manufacture contract covers the build of the first three Type 26 Frigates through to sea trials and vessel acceptance by the Royal Navy, as well as the remaining development costs for the class.The contract also includes the procurement of the medium calibre gun for the first three ships and the modifications needed to the Clyde shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun to enable the manufacture of the Type 26.The detailed pricing of the contract is a commercial matter between the MOD and BAE Systems and I am therefore withholding the cost per ship as its publication would prejudice commercial interests.

Cadets: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will meet the hon. Member for East Londonderry on visiting cadet detachments in Northern Ireland in 2017.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Yes.

Type 26 Frigates

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to purchase any more Type 26 frigates on top of those frigates already announced.

Harriett Baldwin: The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review set out our commitment to build eight Type 26 Frigates. We have awarded the contract to build the first three ships and expect to negotiate the contract and secure the necessary approvals for the remaining five in the early 2020s.

HMS Swiftsure

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is a penalty clause for late delivery of the dismantling of HMS Swiftsure in the dismantling contract.

Harriett Baldwin: As is normal for defence contracts, there are a number of levers available that may be applied if contractual delays occur, the use of which are dependent upon the cause and severity of the delay.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the shipbuilding strategy will be published.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 June 2017 to the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) to Question 435.



Warships: shipbuiding
(Word Document, 43.08 KB)

Veterans: Homelessness

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of veterans who are homeless.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 10 November 2016 by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government (Marcus Jones) to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) to Question 50027. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-10-24/50027



Veterans: Homelessness
(Word Document, 15.36 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have the word trade in their job title.

Harriett Baldwin: As of 30 June 2017 a total of 1,063 civilian employees were recorded as having the word 'trade' in the job code description field on the Department's human resource management system.

Type 26 Frigates

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral Answer of 10 July 2017, Official Report, column 24, to the hon. Member for Aberavon on the sourcing of steel for Type 26 Frigates, what account was taken of local value on deciding to procure steel from outside the UK.

Harriett Baldwin: Ensuring that the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects is a requirement of the guidance issued to central Government departments when conducting their procurement activities. I can confirm that the procurement of steel for the Type 26 programme complied fully with the guidelines.Although UK companies were invited to tender for all Type 26 steel through open competition, the combination of thickness, size and flatness specifications of plate steel needed for the Type 26 Frigates means that this cannot be sourced in its entirety from the UK.Almost 50 per cent by value of the steel for the first batch of Type 26 ships is being sourced from the UK, primarily from Scotland and Scunthorpe.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will remove the mandatory reassessment of people with progressive conditions, such as muscle-wasting conditions, who are in receipt of personal independence payments at the enhanced rate.

Penny Mordaunt: Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit and ensure that not only awards remain correct where needs may change and that we also maintain contact with the claimant, both features missing from its predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award with a light touch review at the ten year point. PIP recognises that for the most severely disabled claimants, the award review process could seem unnecessarily intrusive. Existing PIP claimants with the most severe, lifetime disabilities, whose functional ability has remained the same, are more likely to have their evidence reviewed by a DWP Decision-Maker and will not need to have another face-to-face assessment with a healthcare professional. We will continue to closely monitor developments across the health and disability landscape and engage with stakeholders to improve the service we provide. We are committed to ensuring that the PIP reassessment process works effectively across the spectrum of disabilities and health conditions, including mental health conditions, cognitive impairments and physical disabilities. On Employment and Support Allowance we are working with our assessment provider, medical professionals and other stakeholders, to develop a set of criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom reassessments can be stopped unless there is a change of circumstances.

Personal Independence Payment: Cardiff Central

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Cardiff Central constituency have had their original personal independence payments decision overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Wrexham constituency have had their original personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of constituents in Swansea East constituency have had their original personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Ogmore constituency had their original personal independence payment decision overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the number and proportion is of constituents in Neath who had their original decision on claiming personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Penny Mordaunt: The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by type of clearance (i.e. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html The table below shows the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mandatory Reconsideration decisions and appeal decisions where the award was changed by year of each decision since the introduction of PIP in the Parliamentary Constituencies of Cardiff Central, Swansea East, Ogmore, Wrexham and Neath Number of Initial decisions and Mandatory Reconsiderations decisions where the award changed by year of decision.Year of Mandatory Reconsideration20132014201520162017 (to April)TotalNumber of Awards Changed at Mandatory ReconsiderationCardiff Central#40705020180Swansea East#409023040390Ogmore#30907030230Wrexham#207019030300Neath#3010018060360Year of Appeal Decision20132014201520162017 (to April)TotalNumber of Awards Changed at AppealCardiff Central#10706020160Swansea East#10120150130400Ogmore##1009020210Wrexham##207050140Neath#10100140100350 # is used for instances where there are less than 5 cases to avoid the release of confidential data.

Personal Independence Payment: Torfaen

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Torfaen constituency had personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each of the last five years for which data is available.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of constituents in Delyn constituency have had their personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of constituents in Jarrow constituency have had their personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

Penny Mordaunt: The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by type of clearance (i.e. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html Table 1 below shows the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mandatory Reconsideration decisions where the award was changed by year since the introduction of PIP in the Parliamentary Constituencies of Torfaen, Delyn and Jarrow. Table 1 - Number of Mandatory Reconsiderations decisions where the award changed by financial year of decision.Year of Mandatory Reconsideration2013/142014/ 152015/ 162016/ 172017/18 (April 17 only)TotalTorfaenLess than 5807011020280DelynLess than 530306010130JarrowLess than 520408010150 Tables 2-4 below show the Number of appeals found in favour of appellant by financial year, data from Ministry of Justice. Table 2  Jarrow1 Number Found in Favour of AppellantPercentage Found in Favour of Appellant (at hearing)22013-143PIP400%2014-153PIP41558%52015-163PIP47649%2016-173PIP412351% Table 3Torfaen constituency1 Number Found in Favour of AppellantPercentage Found in Favour of Appellant (at hearing)22013-143PIP4Less than 5Less than 52014-153PIP48069%2015-163PIP448874%2016-173PIP451670% Table 4 Delyn constituency1 Number Found in Favour of AppellantPercentage Found in Favour of Appellant (at hearing)22013-143PIP400%2014-153PIP42242%2015-163PIP419452%2016-173PIP447967% 1 Social Security and Child Support data are attributed to the hearing venue nearest to the appellants’ home address. For appellants living in Jarrow appeals are attributed to the South Shields venue. For appellants identified as living in Torfaen Constituency this would be Langstone Tribunal venue. For appellants identified as living in Delyn Constituency this would be this would be either Prestatyn or Wrexham Tribunal Venues.2. Percentage Found in favour of Appellant this is based on the number found in favour as a percentage of the appeals cleared at hearing. In line with the published stats, data are not available at a level more-detailed than hearing venue.3 By financial year - from April to March.4 PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance for people aged 16 to 64 and rolled out from 8 April 2013. As such, appeal volumes in HM Courts & Tribunals Service in the Year 2013-2014 are low.5 Indicates the population where the decision was in favour with 30 appeals or less

Jobcentres: Tredegar

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants will be required to travel further than the distance considered reasonable by his Department to attend appointments and research job vacancies following the closure of Tredegar jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: We believe that it is a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. Whilst we accept this may mean a longer journey for some claimants, we do also expect (subject to any specific circumstances) claimants to be available to take work within 90 minutes of their homes. The new site at Ebbw Vale is 2.8 miles and 22 minutes by public transport from Tredegar Jobcentre. We do not, therefore, consider the journey to Ebbw Vale Jobcentre to be excessive and claimants in other parts of the country do travel further.

Public Sector: Universal Credit

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many public sector workers have been in receipt of universal credit since April 2013.

Damian Hinds: This information is not available as we do not collect data on Universal Credit recipients by employment type.

Jobcentres: Pyle

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants will be required to travel further than the distance considered reasonable by his Department to attend appointments and research job vacancies following the closure of Pyle jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: The new site at Porthcawl is 4.9 miles and 35 minutes by public transport from Pyle Jobcentre. We undertook public consultation for offices over three miles and 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. We have considered the points raised by respondents and although they do highlight difficulties for some claimants in making these changes, we have to balance the need to provide services along with the budget available to deliver those services. Whilst we accept this may mean a longer journey for some claimants, we do also expect (subject to any specific circumstances) claimants to be available to take work within 90 minutes of their homes. We do not, therefore, consider the journey to Porthcawl Jobcentre to be excessive and claimants in other parts of the country do travel further. When a full-time jobcentre such as Pyle Jobcentre closes following a public consultation, we will put an ‘outreach’ service in place within the local community.

Universal Credit

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of universal credit in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK.

Damian Hinds: This information is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.ukGuidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Luke Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to provide transitional financial support to women affected by the change in the retirement age; and if he will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: The Government has already made a concession worth £1.1 billion that will reduce the impact of these increases on those women most affected by them. This issue has been debated numerous times and numerous statements have already been made. Introducing further concessions cannot be justified given the imperative to focus public resources on helping those most in need.

Maternity Allowance

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received maternity allowance in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Caroline Dinenage: In response to these questions: (a) The number of women who commenced their Maternity Allowance claim in 2014-15 was 82,500.(b) The number of women who commenced their Maternity Allowance claim in 2015-16 was 86,300.(c) The total number of commencements for 2016-17 is not yet available. Data are published quarterly on the number of commencements to Maternity Allowance on a rolling basis up to November 2016 at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/maternity-allowance-quarterly-statistics These quarterly data do not sum to the annual totals above as the data is subject to substantial retrospection from late notifications to the computer system, as noted in the publication. The annual estimates above are the best estimate for the financial years requested. (1) Data is based on 5% sample data and retrospection may continue to affect the actual numbers. (2) These figures exclude a small proportion of clerical cases.(3) Data are rounded to the nearest 100.

Personal Independence Payment: Neath

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the number and proportion is of people in Neath constituency who were categorised as lifelong recipients of disability living allowance and who were subsequently judged ineligible to receive personal independence payments in each year for which data is available.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average difference is in points awarded at initial assessment and on appeal for those who claim personal independence payment following an appeal.

Penny Mordaunt: The department does not hold the required information on point scores at appeal. We therefore cannot provide the average difference in points awarded at initial assessment and on appeal for those who claim personal independence payment following an appeal.

Mental Illness: Unemployed People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the increase in mental health illness among unemployed people as highlighted in the findings of the recent report by the UK Council for Pyschotherapy.

Penny Mordaunt: Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced the first steps in our plan to transform the way we deal with mental health problems at every stage of a person’s life. A range of new measures were announced, including two new reviews. In addition, the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and NHS England’s Implementation Plan sets out a series of actions to prevent mental ill health, improve services and reduce stigma.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Litter

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to introduce a legally binding extended producer responsibility scheme for litter.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

UK legislation already exists to establish Producer Responsibility schemes for a number of items, including for packaging, which unfortunately can still be littered. The Government’s Litter Strategy for England, published on 10 April, outlines a range of measures to reduce litter and littering behaviour. As part of the Strategy we are establishing a working group to explore voluntary or regulatory measures to reduce the incidence of commonly littered items.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: UK legislation already exists to establish Producer Responsibility schemes for a number of items, including for packaging, which unfortunately can still be littered. The Government’s Litter Strategy for England, published on 10 April, outlines a range of measures to reduce litter and littering behaviour. As part of the Strategy we are establishing a working group to explore voluntary or regulatory measures to reduce the incidence of commonly littered items.

Rowanoak Waste Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has met HM Revenue and Customs to discuss the business dealings of the landowners of the site operated by Rowan Oak Waste at Shaw Road in Dudley.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with.Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency has spoken with HM Revenue and Customs on this matter. The Environment Agency have provided them with details regarding the criminal investigation into the site. The investigation is ongoing and we cannot, at this stage, provide the details of what information was shared as this could undermine our enforcement action.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with.Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency has spoken with HM Revenue and Customs on this matter. The Environment Agency have provided them with details regarding the criminal investigation into the site. The investigation is ongoing and we cannot, at this stage, provide the details of what information was shared as this could undermine our enforcement action.

Rowanoak Waste Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has met HM Revenue and Customs to discuss the business dealings of the operators of Rowan Oak Waste site at Shaw Road in Dudley.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with. Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency has spoken with HM Revenue and Customs on this matter. The Environment Agency have provided them with details regarding the criminal investigation into the site. The investigation is ongoing and we cannot, at this stage, provide the details of what information was shared as this could undermine our enforcement action.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with. Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency has spoken with HM Revenue and Customs on this matter. The Environment Agency have provided them with details regarding the criminal investigation into the site. The investigation is ongoing and we cannot, at this stage, provide the details of what information was shared as this could undermine our enforcement action.

Flood Control: Leeds

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of his Department's planned £2.5 billion investment in flood investments will be allocated to Leeds; and what the timetable is for completion of those schemes.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Between April 2015 and March 2021, the Government plans to invest £54.5 million within the Leeds City Council boundary. This will deliver more than 15 individual schemes and projects to reduce flood risk to communities and safeguard the economy. The majority of these will be completed by March 2021.

Fisheries: North Sea

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which stocks will be considered as managed bycatch under the North Sea Multi Annual Plan.

George Eustice: The EU’s North Sea multi-annual plan is still under negotiation. However, the Council of Ministers is seeking to include the following as target species: cod, haddock, plaice, saithe, sole, whiting, anglerfish, northern prawn and nephrops stocks in the North Sea. All other demersal species would be considered as bycatch stocks under the plan. Typical bycatch stocks for example include pollack, ling and turbot. As a general rule the target species are those species for which there is a full scientific assessment. For bycatch species, a precautionary approach is applied given limited data.

Food Supply

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the food security implications of the UK leaving the EU on (a) world trade rules, (b) remaining in the Single Market and Customs Union and (c) any other trade scenarios.

George Eustice: Food supply is highly resilient with capacity throughout the supply chain, and industry can respond quickly to ensure ongoing supply. The UK has a strong balance between domestic production and diverse sources of supply, which has been stable for a number of years. Food security depends on factors including increasing global production sustainably, reducing waste and ensuring open markets to facilitate trade. None of the potential scenarios regarding our trading relationship with the EU is likely to have a significant impact on food security.

Rowanoak Waste Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions the Environment Agency has had with (a) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and (b) the Health and Safety Executive on risks posed by the site operated by Rowan Oak Waste at Shaw Road in Dudley.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with.Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency have not had reason to contact the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy nor the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding Rowan Oak Waste. At present the property is secure except when waste is being removed and from regular visits to the site The Environment Agency have not found unsafe working practices. The Environment Agency would contact the HSE if they became aware of a risk to the sites workers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency have met Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Environmental Health and Planning Departments four times between November 2016 and July 2017 to discuss Rowan Oak Waste. At each meeting the Environment Agency have provided the latest information on their action against the clearance of the site and their enforcement action against the operator. The Environment Agency have also discussed and agreed how amenity complaints from the site would be dealt with.Councillor Steve Waltho and Councillor Ali Shaukat have also attended these meetings. They have taken the information shared back to their local communities to keep them updated. The Environment Agency have not had reason to contact the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy nor the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding Rowan Oak Waste. At present the property is secure except when waste is being removed and from regular visits to the site The Environment Agency have not found unsafe working practices. The Environment Agency would contact the HSE if they became aware of a risk to the sites workers.

Department for Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Private Sector

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many privately-owned residential blocks in (a) the Manchester City Council area, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the UK have submitted samples of cladding for safety-testing since the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: The testing process for samples of cladding is underway. The testing service is available to landlords in the private rented sector free of charge, though they may choose to use another service. Where samples fail the test we would expect landlords to take any necessary action to inform tenants, and implement interim measures to ensure the safety of residents. We will update figures for specific areas on our website in due course.

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will set out the powers, scope, responsibilities and accountability of the recovery taskforce appointed to run the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons he appointed a recovery taskforce for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council and not Commissioners; and how the powers, responsibilities and accountability of that taskforce differ from those of Commissioners.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 12 July 2017



The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government made a statement on 5 July setting out that the Grenfell Tower Recovery Taskforce will consider all aspects of the recovery operation, but will have a special focus on housing, regeneration and community engagement. The Recovery Taskforce will advise, support and challenge the Council, and will report to the Secretary of State directly.The Taskforce is set up as a non-Statutory Intervention to work with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - following their request for support from central government - on the longer term recovery following the Grenfell Tower disaster. Commissioners, on the other hand, are appointed by the Secretary of State to exercise specific functions of an authority where he is satisfied that the authority is failing to comply with its Best Value Duty (Local Government Act 1999).

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide weekly updates on the number of Grenfell Tower fire survivors who have (a) been rehoused permanently and (b) accepted accommodation throughout the period of Parliamentary recess.

Alok Sharma: We wrote on 22 June and 11 July to update all Members of Parliament on the Grenfell Tower disaster and will continue to provide regular updates.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what amount of his Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Jake Berry: The Department for Communities and Local Government is working with the Department for Exiting the EU to support the UK's exit from the EU. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give a precise figure on the annual expenditure allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many Grenfell Tower fire survivors have been allocated case workers or social workers.

Alok Sharma: There are 148 families or individuals from Grenfell Tower and 24 from Grenfell Walk who have been provided with key workers.A dedicated key worker has been allocated to every affected household that wants one.

Local Government: Databases

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the capacity of local authorities to provide citizens with all the data that those authorities hold on them.

Jake Berry: My Department has not made an assessment of the capacity of local authorities to provide citizens with all the data that those authorities hold on them. This is a matter entirely for local authorities. They are separate data controllers under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Housing Infrastructure Fund

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Housing Infrastructure Fund will accept bids for the purpose of regeneration and renewal of New Town infrastructure.

Alok Sharma: The Housing Infrastructure Fund has been designed with a deliberately broad definition of infrastructure to unlock the homes this country needs. We would welcome bids that support regeneration that provide additional new homes.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the request sent to local authorities by his Department requesting a sample of cladding to be removed and sent for testing.

Alok Sharma: This information has already been published. Three letters were sent from the Permanent Secretary for DCLG on 18, 19 and 22 June. These can be found at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/620227/170618_local_authorities_and_housing_associations_re_checks.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624831/170619_technical_testing_protocols.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-checks-following-the-grenfell-tower-fire-22-june-2017

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3059, how many health and safety assessments on cladding and external wall insulation systems have been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive on buildings over 18 metres high in the last four years.

Alok Sharma: The Health and Safety Executive has not undertaken any health and safety assessments on cladding and external wall insulation systems on buildings over 18 metres high in the last four years.

HM Treasury

Fuels: Rural Areas

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to make fuel more affordable for people in rural areas.

Andrew Jones: Since 2010 those living in the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, the islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly have benefitted from a 5 pence per litre fuel price cut. In 2015 this scheme was extended to benefit those people living across seventeen of mainland UK’s most rural communities. However, the Government recognises that fuel costs remain a significant part of business and household costs. This is why, at Autumn Statement 2016, the Government announced the main rate of fuel duty would remain frozen for the seventh successive year, saving the average driver £130 a year.

Treasury: Staff

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have the word trade in their job title.

Andrew Jones: HM Treasury has a dedicated team working on trade policy, as well as a team focused on international trade in Financial Services. This resource is complemented by officials working on a range of trade related issues across the department, including trade promotion, economic analysis and customs policy.

Treasury: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

Andrew Jones: Planning for the UK’s exit from the EU relates to many different policy areas the Treasury works on. The Treasury has therefore not identified a separate figure for expenditure on EU-exit work in 2017-18.

National Insurance: Self-employed

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 July 2017, on income tax and national insurance, what plans he has to change national insurance for self-employed people.

Mel Stride: Self-employed people currently pay two types of National Insurance contributions (NICs): Class 2 and Class 4. The government has no current plans to change NICs beyond those already announced.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what amount of his Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The proportion of Cabinet Office annual expenditure allocated to work relating to the UK’s exit from the UK is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Young People: Swansea East

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many 18 to 25 year olds in Swansea East constituency were recorded (a) in the latest census estimate and (b) on the electoral register.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ5163
(PDF Document, 152.47 KB)

Young People: Ogmore

Chris Elmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged between 18 and 25 in Ogmore constituency were (a) recorded in the latest census estimate and (b) recorded on the electoral register.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ5182
(PDF Document, 152.6 KB)

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what local government spending has been as a proportion of gross domestic product in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Response to PQ5357
(PDF Document, 69.36 KB)

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the devolved administrations on areas of devolved competence in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Chris Skidmore: We have been clear from the start that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged in our preparations to leave the EU. Close and constructive working between the UK Government and devolved administrations in all areas affected by EU exit will be required, including those where negotiations intersect with policies areas which are devolved. The First Secretary of State has written to the First Minister of Wales and the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, whilst senior officials have written to the interim Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, to instigate discussions on where future common approaches are needed. Subsequently, the First Secretary of State has also spoken to the First Minister of Wales and the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe. He will be speaking to the Deputy First Minister for Scotland imminently. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has also met and written to his counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and the Government shared the draft Bill with the devolved administrations before it was introduced. Over the summer it is our intention that further Ministerial and official meetings will take place. They will discuss where lasting common approaches are needed and where a common approach is not required. As a result of this process the Government expects there will be a significant increase in the decision-making power of each devolved administration.

Public Sector: Delyn

David Hanson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of constituents in Delyn constituency worked in the public sector in each year for which data is available.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ5494
(PDF Document, 166.98 KB)

Brain Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged (a) 30 to 40, (b) 41 to 50, (c) 51 to 60 and (d) over 60 have been diagnosed with brain cancer in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Response to PQ5486
(PDF Document, 165.65 KB)

Young People: Delyn

David Hanson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many 18 to 25-year olds in Delyn constituency are recorded (a) in the latest census estimate and (b) on the electoral register; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Response to PQ5706
(PDF Document, 154.29 KB)

Public Sector: Blaenau Gwent

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many 18 to 25 year olds in Blaenau Gwent constituency are (a) recorded in the latest census estimate and (b) recorded on the electoral register for that constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Response to PQ5802
(PDF Document, 152.72 KB)

Elections: Fraud

Royston Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government has taken to implement the recommendations of Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud entitled Securing the ballot.

Chris Skidmore: The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. Sir Eric Pickles’ review made a number of recommendations for strengthening the integrity of the electoral process, including requiring voters to provide a form of identification at polling stations before voting. In line with the manifesto commitment, the Government plans to run pilot schemes in a number of local authority areas in 2018 that will test the requirement for voters to present ID before voting. Pilots will help to identify the best way of administering this new requirement.The Government is considering the way forward on the other recommendations made by Sir Eric Pickles, and will continue to consider how to improve the integrity of electoral processes more generally.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Big Lottery Fund: Newcastle upon Tyne

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information the Government holds on the size of the proposed reduction in the number of jobs proposed in the Big Lottery Fund in Newcastle.

Tracey Crouch: The government does not hold information on the size of any proposed reductions to staffing levels at the Big Lottery Fund (the Fund) in Newcastle. The Fund is led by a non-executive board and has operational autonomy; therefore, the shape or form that organisational changes take is an independent decision and is not a matter for the Secretary of State.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what amount of her Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.

Matt Hancock: The UK's exit from the European Union is clearly of fundamental importance to the Government. Due to the complex and cross-cutting nature of this work, we cannot quantify the Department's specific annual expenditure as it encompasses so many different aspects of the Department's work

Voluntary Work: Young People

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to publicise the independent review of full-time social action by young people in order to maximise participation in evidence gathering.

Tracey Crouch: As the Review of Full Time Social Action by Young People is independent of government, evidence gathering is a matter for the Chair. A call for evidence will be launched shortly and the panel will also consult with key stakeholders, including young people.

Department of Health

Department of Health: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the potential number of Acts or parts of Acts that will be subject to repeal as a result of provisions in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Mr Philip Dunne: Government departments have been analysing the United Kingdom statute book and directly applicable European Union law in their areas of responsibility to enable an assessment of the scale of the changes needed. This is likely to include the repeal, but also the amendment, of provisions in Acts but we are not in a position to give a sense of scale at this time. In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill Legislating for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required.

Women and Equalities

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will place in the Library of both Houses records of communications that exist on the appointment of Lord Shinkwin to the Equality and Human Rights Commission from or to any (a) member Board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, (b) employee of the Human Rights Commission and (c) member of the Disability Advisory Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Nick Gibb: I will be placing in the library of both Houses the letter of appointment that was sent to Lord Shinkwin on 21 April 2017 appointing him to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Board.

Minister for Women and Equalities: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many staff in the Government Equalities Office have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: About ten staff in the Government Equalities Office (GEO) and its legal advisers, particularly those dealing with equalities legislation and international matters, work as necessary on the UK leaving the EU, though none are employed full-time on this issue.